The first of two "Buys of the Week" from Ken Edwards is the property at 46 Havemeyer Lane, a fire-damaged 1947 brick colonial home, that sold for $387,500.

The first of two "Buys of the Week" from Ken Edwards is the property at 46 Havemeyer Lane, a fire-damaged 1947 brick colonial home, that sold for $387,500.

Photo: Contributed Photo

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Ken's second "Buy of the Week" was the property at 70 Baldwin Farms, a 4,565-square-foot center hall colonial with five bedrooms and four full and two half baths. It sold for $600,000 under its original asking price. less

Ken's second "Buy of the Week" was the property at 70 Baldwin Farms, a 4,565-square-foot center hall colonial with five bedrooms and four full and two half baths. It sold for $600,000 under its original asking ... more

Photo: Contributed Photo

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The home at 70 Baldwin Farms features a spectacular solarium in the kitchen.

The home at 70 Baldwin Farms features a spectacular solarium in the kitchen.

Photo: Contributed Photo

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70 Baldwin Farms also boasts a cherry-paneled library with fireplace.

70 Baldwin Farms also boasts a cherry-paneled library with fireplace.

Photo: Contributed Photo

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The property at 12 Baldwin Farm was Ken Edwards' "Sale of the Week." This stone and shingle manor-style home sold in 66 days at 97 percent of its $5,295,000 asking price. The pricing and marketing of this property was key to its very quick sale, says Edwards. less

The property at 12 Baldwin Farm was Ken Edwards' "Sale of the Week." This stone and shingle manor-style home sold in 66 days at 97 percent of its $5,295,000 asking price. The pricing and marketing of this ... more

Photo: Contributed Photo

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The property at 12 Baldwin Farms features a luxury master bath.

The property at 12 Baldwin Farms features a luxury master bath.

Photo: Contributed Photo

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The home at 12 Baldwin Farms also includes a barreled ceiling.

The home at 12 Baldwin Farms also includes a barreled ceiling.

Photo: Contributed Photo

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Not-so-quiet January for Greenwich real estate market

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The beginning of January is generally pretty quiet, save for a few closings that get delayed over the holidays. This year, however, saw 14 properties changing hands in the second week of the year.

That's a very encouraging sign for us as Realtors. Here's a recap of the closings that ranged from a fire-damaged corner house on Havemeyer Lane to a mid-country estate that will turn heads.

The list of sales comes from the Greenwich Multiple Listing Service and covers the properties mentioned with selling price and the percent of what the seller originally wanted for the property, shown in the percent of original listing price (OLP) column. That's significant, because it's a true measure of the reasonableness of asking prices and the strength of buyers competing for these properties. Five of the 14 sales were at 97 percent or higher of original listing price.

This week, I have two "Buys of the Week." The first is for investors -- a fire-damaged home in Old Greenwich north of Putnam Avenue, and the second is a move-in condition home off Round Hill Road in mid-country.

Marianne Broekmeijer's estate sale at 46 Havemeyer Lane, a fire-damaged 1947 brick colonial home, sold for $387,500. While buyers were not permitted to enter the building for safety reasons, it's clear that with an FAR (floor-area ratio) finished construction maximum at 3,042 square feet in the coveted Eastern Middle School district, it's not hard to justify an investment here. Current real estate taxes on the existing property and structure are also quite low at $4,135. This street has easy access to Putnam Avenue and downtown Old Greenwich.

In short, it's a no-brainer at this price.

The second "Buy of the Week" was 70 Baldwin Farms, a 4,565-square-foot center hall Colonial with 5 bedrooms and 4 full and 2 half baths. Sold for $600,000 under its original asking price, this home is truly ready for new owners with a spectacular solarium in the kitchen, a gorgeous cherry-paneled library with fireplace, and sophisticated black and white scheme on the first floor's foyer, kitchen and living room.

It's tough to land a home of this quality at or under $2 million in this neighborhood. More expensive homes on this road evidence the discount at which this home sold. If your house is less than half the cost of others on your street, you shouldn't have too much trouble selling it!

As a prime example, my "Sale of the Week" was also on Baldwin Farms at No. 12, selling for $5,125,000. A stone and shingle manor-style home of more than 9,000 square feet, this 2007 custom construction property was priced well and sold in 66 days at 97 percent of its $5,295,000 asking price. The pricing and marketing of this property was key to its very quick sale. Some unusual features of this home include a barreled ceiling in the kitchen, shown in the accompanying photo, with an open floor plan desired by today's buyers for their lifestyles.

There are so many features of this home that evidence its high-quality construction and excellence in design. Just a peek at the luxury master bath (see photo), should convince you of that at a glance.

Add a pool and tennis court, if desired, on this parcel and you'll increase the equity in this home pretty quickly into the $6 millions, especially as our market continues to improve.

Topics will include what permits are necessary, how and where to get the appropriate permits and what happens during construction in terms of checking on the projects and common issues that come up while doing inspections.

I'll be submitting questions ahead of time and welcome your questions, which will be kept anonymous. Here's your chance to get your P&Z questions answered. You can email or text them to me before the meeting. I'll report back with answers to your anonymous questions in this column the following week. This way we all get to learn what we need to know when doing renovations or new construction in our town.

I hope to hear from you!

This Week's Success Quote

"Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers." -- François-Marie Arouet, who was better known by his pen name Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, essayist, deist and philosopher

Ken Edwards is the principal broker for Edwards & Associates and has lived in town since 1974. All opinions expressed in this column are entirely his own and not those of this publisher. Comments, questions and suggestions may be sent to K_W_Edwards@Yahoo.com or by phone or text him at 203-918-4444. Questions of general interest will be addressed in this column, while others will receive individual responses.